Posted on 08/28/2020 6:26:17 AM PDT by SJackson
A Democrat shares his thoughts on the RNC -- and makes an intriguing prediction.
I watched the second night of the Republican National Convention the same way you fall in love or go bankrupt: gradually, but then suddenly stricken by a strange and somewhat inexplicable premonition. It was this: Donald John Trump is going to win in November, and win big.
Yeah, I know all about the polls. I understand the deep distaste many Americans, including some traditional Republican voters, feel for the president. I am well aware of the criticism of his conduct in handling COVID-19, or the riots following George Floyd’s death, or any number of issues. And yet, as Trump’s first surprise election ought to have taught us by now, when it comes to modern American politics, the only principle that truly matters is the Ooga Chaka principle: We vote for the candidate who gets us hooked on a feeling and high on believing.
Last week, the Democrats used their convention to deliver three key messages: Joe Biden is a very decent person; Joe Biden is not Donald Trump, who is not a very decent person; and, being both a very decent person and not-Donald-Trump, Joe Biden is passionate about amplifying the voices of women and minorities, which is one important way to prove both your decency and your not-Trumpiness.
Who, precisely, might get hooked by these messages, and on what feeling? That Biden is a decent person is indisputable anywhere outside the airless quarters of the most quarrelsome partisans. That he shares little with the man he hopes to defeat is obvious—by now, Trump’s fans and detractors alike have very few misconceptions about the man’s character. That leaves us with the DNC’s heavy schmear of identity politics, a sentiment that doubtless resonates with the party’s educated, affluent base but says very little to those weary Americans who wonder why their cities are burning and why on earth anyone would ever want to defund the police.
The RNC, on the other hand, had a much more hearty offering on hand. It had no actors, singers, comedians, billionaires, academics, or former presidents present to offer perfectly polished paeans to character. Instead, it had people of faith affirming the singular importance of safeguarding the freedom of religion; immigrants affirming the notion, not controversial until very recently, that an American citizenship was an exceptional honor, not a universal right; blue-collar workers affirming the all-American reliance on small businesses, not tech behemoths; law enforcement officials affirming the foundational truth that, in America, when we disagree, we talk things over, not burn things down; and African Americans affirming the belief, central to the thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. and entirely alien to the current crop of race hustlers, that it’s the content of one’s character, not the color of one’s skin, that ought to matter.
In other words, whereas one party had the same narrow dogma repeated verbatim with very little variation, the other had—dare we say it?—diversity: of gender and of race and of experience, but also, more importantly, of interests and ideas.
This is not to say that watching both conventions will get a sizable number of voters to stop worrying and learn to love Donald Trump. But it is to say that it’s becoming increasingly more clear that the Democrats’ real problem isn’t the party’s aging candidate or its rambunctious left flank but, rather, its relationship with reality itself.
A party seriously interested in recapturing the White House would’ve done well to launch its bid by drafting a road map that roughly corresponds to America’s territory. It would’ve benefited from going long on big ideas and short on big personalities. It would’ve sought to vigorously court the millions who rejected it last time around, choosing instead to bet on an imperfect upstart. The Democrats orated, emoted, and fixated on nothing but the orange-haired object of their obsession.
To make matters worse, if you were watching the convention on TV—as fewer and fewer Americans do these handheld, device-driven days—you were treated to the dizzying but not altogether unpleasant experience of seeing the talking heads on cable news ask you to believe them rather than your own lying eyes. To hear the pundits tell it, the RNC is one part Thunderdome, one part plantation owners’ meeting, a series of dark and stormy nights dedicated to hating anyone or anything that isn’t white, rich, and smug. Examples are plentiful and sordid, but here’s one: After suing CNN and settling for an undisclosed sum, Nicholas Sandmann, the Kentucky high school student who was portrayed as a baby Grand-Wizard-in-training by our malicious media, appeared last night to tell his story. He was polite, earnest, and engaging but that didn’t stop our moral and intellectual betters from once again telling a very different story. Sandmann, sneered one cable news stalwart, was a “snot nose entitled kid” who was best ignored. That stalwart? Joe Lockhart, of CNN. There’s no better way to describe the last four years of American journalism than the mantra coined decades ago by Seinfeld’s showrunners: No hugging, no learning. And, like Seinfeld, all MSNBC, CNN, and their likes can produce these days are shows about nothing.
For better or worse, Americans want something—anything—else. Many dislike Donald Trump, and so will not vote for him no matter what. But many more, when in the privacy of the voting booth, will do what voters so often do and vote for the party that looks—and feels—more like them, and that can get them high on believing in an America that looks like the one they know and love—an imperfect but good nation ever slouching toward a brighter tomorrow. These last two nights, the RNC has made a very convincing case why that party may very well be the party of Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump.
It is really easy.
On one side you have the Democrats who hate the USA, despise everything it has accomplished, want to pull it down and reduce it to equality in misery.
On the other hand you have ‘Pubbies who love the USA, and its achievements and want their nation to be strong and (unequally) prosperous.
What is disturbing is that, despite the Democrat message, they STILL get at least 40% of vote....
I think he expressed what many Democrats are thinking.
“What has happened to our party that we make Donald Trump look good?”
I believe you are vastly and I mean VASTLY underestimating the “silent” Trump voter.
This is a false stipulation. Evidence shows Biden and his family are grifters. And bullies.
You know what, maybe he is, but it's irrelevant because he won't be the one running the show, if he's elected. You might as well have Bernie in the White House, because there won't be a dime's worth of difference.
I firmly agree.
And, honestly, it is the type of thing I would expect from a “thinking” old school democrat that is on the verge of joining #walkaway.
Bmk
“I understand the deep distaste many Americans, including some traditional Republican voters, feel for the president.”
And THAT is where your wrong
Sadly FRiend, if you dive into mainstream journalism he summarized the dogma of the media. The media that half the country consumes. An otherwise generally conservative or moderate suburban mom who watches the view or other Oprah type formats during the day thinks like this. Those who still watch the old-time news cast at 6pm still feel like this.
We cannot ignore the mainstream media characterization of Trump because people who don’t seek out conservative media or watch much news have heard this message about Trump for 3-4 years.
It is a simple undeniable fact.
I have seen many suggest that Trump was flat last night, but this was a brilliant move by his campaign because this speech is likely the most heard speech of the campaign for him. Trump did what he needed to do last night in a very targeted speech with enough red meat to satisfy his base and a calm demeanor and message aimed at the people this guy described.
I think it was a big success. The whole convention was a success and kudos to whomever targeted the message. It was a winning message!
“Biden is decent...” the new Democrat talking point, since they can’t point to any actual achievements on his part (that they would want to admit to...) and can’t really tout their platform without making ordinary, decent Americans sick.
So they are stuck with “Biden is decent” even though it is patently obvious to the most casual observer that Biden is a corrupt, nepotistic, senile old pervert.
That was a very enjoyable read.
10 pt popular vote victory, 400 plus electoral landslide. You ain’t seen nothing yet. He may well carry CA.
People are SICK of Democrats.
***I liked the speeches by “nobodies” much better than rambling drivel by career politicians of the past.***
Me, too. All the “nobodies” were far more meaningful than any of the politicians.
This RNC convention was far and away the best and most compelling one I’ve ever watched.
“That Biden is a decent person is indisputable anywhere outside the airless quarters of the most quarrelsome partisans.”
Bullcrap. He’s a nasty, hateful, openly corrupt sack of garbage.
L
Buddy, turn off Twitter and join reality!
I think the biggest message that Trump put out there last night is that Biden is Weak! He will be pushed around by the bullies in the DNC.
Thanks for the high-level synopsis.
Wow. Some kind of decent...he sold his influence to the Chinese & Russian, lied about his wife’s auto accident to gin up the sympathy vote, plagiarized throughout his career, leched over young girls, lied, claimed credit for things he didn’t do, used Government to spy on opponents and put his finger on the scales of justice. He committed adultery, a fact which is now being brought to light by his current wife’s ex.
The author of this piece has a very elastic definition of decent. Scoundrel, low-life, grifter, traitor, amoral opportunist, any and all of those words are a better fit for Joe Biden.
There’s a lot I disagree with this author on in terms of particulars, and not a few fundamental things on which she’s confused - but on the whole, she is intellectually honest, and do you know how hard it is to find an intellectually honest liberal? That’s the first step to dealing with reality, so there may be some hope for her in the long run.
This convention also showed how Trump has transformed the Republican, or at least, enabled that transformation. Who else could have accomplished this?
That’s why all the Bushies are gnashing their teeth, Trump took the Party away from them, and moved it into the modern era. It acknowledges the new realities of this country, in terms of Demographics, without using the old, tired, divide and conquer tactics of the Democrats.
But many of those silent voters from '16 are hurting now...thanks to Rat Party Governors and Rat Party "experts".They're not likely to vote for Plugs but some of them could stay home this year.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.